Assessing the Predictive Capacity of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Soil Labile Carbon and Mineralizable Nitrogen

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) offers a non-destructive, rapid and cost-efficient solution for quantifying soil properties. Monitoring soil fertility through biological indicators such as Permanganate Oxidizable Carbon (POxC) is critical for precision agriculture. POxC is a key indicator of labile organic matter, offering a sensitive and practical metric for assessing soil health and fertility dynamics. This study assesses the ability of Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict this indicator across diverse agroecosystems in Wallonia (Belgium)